Episode 36: Best Cover Songs of All Time
Posted in Episodes on March 12, 2013
In this episode Dan and Rob each make their top ten lists of the best cover songs of all time. Dan, being a little obsessive, breaks things down into four categories: 1) Traditional folk songs sung by modern artists, 2) Cover songs that have essentially replaced the original, 3) Cover songs that are basically a great new performance of the original, and 4) Cover songs that recontextualize the original. It’s this fourth group that we focus on in this episode–taking an old song and making it into something new and different. Our lists only cross over three times. Dan hates Rob’s number one. Rob keeps calling some of Dan’s songs “performance art”, even though ALL music is technically performance art, so what sense does that make?
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I love it when you guys talk music.
Not that it would have made the list (or even necessarily been appropriate for this list since it’s Spanish Guitar) but the Rodrigo y Gabriela version of Stairway to Heaven is a fantastic version. My kids love dancing to it. Wish I’d thought of it in time for Dan’s poll:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh_M7tAdLtg
Great podcast!
Holy smokes, Kristine. I love that!
I am going to submit that I was way too sick to make a good list. I missed a bunch of my favorite songs. Any way fun podcast guys.
Thanks for the podcast guys, really enjoyed it.
Now, for the quibbles (they’re the internet version of tribbles, adorable in small doses);
-Totally wrong on All Along the Watchtower, the Dylan original lives and is fantastic. Has totally not been supplanted by the (awesome) Hendrix version
-staying with Dylan, how is “Knocking on Heavens Door” completely omitted? Great song, and the Guns and Roses cover is fantastic, well deserving of a place on the list
Keep up the great work, I’ll be listening
Loved the podcast guys, you always have something entertaining for me! Is it possible to get a print version of the rest of Dan’s lists? It sounded like he made a top 10 even for the songs he disqualified.
Thought you should know though, I actually knew about the Four Lads singing Istanbul, but then I’m crazy.
Keep up the great work!
COULD NOT AGREE MORE! In my opinion the best cover songs are the ones taken by a band in a completely different genre and adapted to said genre. A close second in my opinion would be Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt.
I’m about a month behind due to class, but I’ve got to say, when someone says cover songs, the absolute first thing that comes to mind is Land of Confusion by Disturbed, original by Genesis. The thing that makes it so amazing is not really the song itself but the differences between the music videos. Todd McFarland animation in the Disturbed version is one of my favorite videos of all time.
The other covers that come to mind when I think about covers are Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads and I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You by the Bee Gees, both of which were covered by Moxy Fruvous. Now, I am extremely partial being a massive fan of Fruvous even though no one has ever freaking heard of them. So ignore my fanboy moment.